Berthon's Lymington Marina

Don't make fun of the writing style of the author of the brokerage ads in the magazine.

And don't press your body against the outer frosted glass panel of the shower unless dressed :o

I'm sure someone will be along to give sensible advice in a mo...
 
I was berthed there 1999 to 2002 and liked it very much, before the posh loos and before the current one-trick-pony brokerage writer. Shipyard was good but expensive. Lymington the town was/is a delight. I only left because of the weather
 
We moved to Berthon in August 2010. We'd been there as visitors before and had always been made very welcome. As we are a slightly unusual family unit with two mentally handicapped children we are often conscious of having outstayed our welcome and the Berthon staff have always been brilliant in a non-intrusive way.

My elder daughter is an absolute connoisseur of loos both grand and not so grand and loves that aspect of the facilities, as do we all.

I enjoy being able to get out to sea at any time I choose; having spent years in a locked marina there's a terrific sense of freedom.

The shipyard facilities are excellent. You need to expect to pay more than you would for man-and-a-van type servicing but Berthons have a big inhouse workforce including a major investment in apprenticeships and I think it's a price that has to be paid if there are going to be any marine engineers and shipwrights in a few years' time.

I could go on but I suspect you get the picture. I'm very happy there.
 
One of the nicest marinas we know.

Many happy hours sat on the flybridge with a glass of something watching the ferrries come in and out of an evening

Wish we could afford to moor there now - with all the walking into Lymington we did we were as fit as we have ever been:(

May
xx
 
I think its a very nice marina although...... Am I right in thinking that Berton don't allow outside contractors to work on your boat, you have to use berthon for servicing and any other jobs that need to be done?

What happens if you feel the price quoted isn't competitive, I wonder if with good reason you could get an outside engineer to do some work for you?
 
Aigua said:
I think its a very nice marina although...... Am I right in thinking that Berton don't allow outside contractors to work on your boat, you have to use berthon for servicing and any other jobs that need to be done?

What happens if you feel the price quoted isn't competitive, I wonder if with good reason you could get an outside engineer to do some work for you?
Click to expand...

Dan its a big no no for the likes of me getting in to do work, although I have had in the past berth holders custom, we just take the boat to the town quay or Yachthaven for the day.

If its not competitive ive heard there attitude is "tough", the only outside contractors that are allowed are companies associated with warranty work on your boat, you know you had the interview.
 
How did you manage to get in, it must be the most elite of all marinas. Did you have to get though an interview and commit to using the superb boatyard facilities..
 
Aigua said:
I think its a very nice marina although...... Am I right in thinking that Berton don't allow outside contractors to work on your boat, you have to use berthon for servicing and any other jobs that need to be done?

What happens if you feel the price quoted isn't competitive, I wonder if with good reason you could get an outside engineer to do some work for you?
Click to expand...

Unless it's changed in the last 4 years then the contract restricts you from using other people to do work that Berthon can carry out. It's less of a problem than it might be because, as BJB says, the workshop facilities and engineers are top notch, but I always disliked the anti competitive nature of it.

Mr May's justification for the policy, in his own words, was "We have a small marina and a big boatyard, so we need marina customers to use the yard".

It's not difficult to get round the restriction if you want, either find an engineer with an unmarked van, or move the boat somewhere else while the service work is done, but it is a hassle.

If you can live with the restriction though, then there are lots of good reasons to be at Berthon. Its much closer to the town than LYH, has great facilities, friendly and helpful dock staff, plenty of parking, and they charge by measured LOA, not fixed berth sizes, so for some boat lengths it can be cheaper than LYH.

You also have all the advantages of keeping a boat in Lymington - the lovely town full of pubs and restaurants, 24/7 access with no lock, lots of marine trades and chandleries, and an ideal location in the western Solent close to the better places to visit, and an hours less cruise time to the west.

Traffic from the motorway can be a problem, but OK if you plan your journey times and know the back routes.
 
Nick_H said:
Unless it's changed in the last 4 years then the contract restricts you from using other people to do work that Berthon can carry out. It's less of a problem than it might be because, as BJB says, the workshop facilities and engineers are top notch, but I always disliked the anti competitive nature of it.

Mr May's justification for the policy, in his own words, was "We have a small marina and a big boatyard, so we need marina customers to use the yard".

It's not difficult to get round the restriction if you want, either find an engineer with an unmarked van, or move the boat somewhere else while the service work is done, but it is a hassle.

If you can live with the restriction though, then there are lots of good reasons to be at Berthon. Its much closer to the town than LYH, has great facilities, friendly and helpful dock staff, plenty of parking, and they charge by measured LOA, not fixed berth sizes, so for some boat lengths it can be cheaper than LYH.

You also have all the advantages of keeping a boat in Lymington - the lovely town full of pubs and restaurants, 24/7 access with no lock, lots of marine trades and chandleries, and an ideal location in the western Solent close to the better places to visit, and an hours less cruise time to the west.

Traffic from the motorway can be a problem, but OK if you plan your journey times and know the back routes.
Click to expand...

Thanks to anyone for the great feedback. I did speak with Brian May and he explained about their closed shop which I don't have a problem about. I am happy to pay for excellence as I am sure most of us are on this forum when it comes to our boats!

Yes, it will take longer to get down to the boat due to going across the forest but it is only 6 miles more than home to Chichester. But the ability to go out at the drop of a hat rather than planning for locks and tides will more than make up for it.

I am looking forward to it.


Andrew
 
Red said:
How did you manage to get in, it must be the most elite of all marinas. Did you have to get though an interview and commit to using the superb boatyard facilities..
Click to expand...

I think your right it is an elite Marina, The facilities are first class and the people friendly and welcoming.

I didn't have an interview as such, just popped in on the off chance that I could speak to them about the possibility of keeping my new boat there (as I was worrying about where to keep it). I ended up having a 15min (ish) chat with Brian and Sarah about my boat and the Marina etc and was offered a berth.

The closed nature does worry me a little as it's the first year of a larger boat and I am acutly aware of all the costs that are going to accompany it :o. I
guess the way to look at berthon is that you are not simply renting a berth but you are placing you boat into a managed services type environment. Personally
I haven't quite got my head round this yet although it may not be a bad thing.


Anyway - I understand that berths are being allocated now for
next year and whilst delayed, the new boat arrived last weekend so I need to
decide where she is going to live :)
 
I recently moved to Lymington to live and looked at both the Yacht Haven and Berthon. Both similiar prices for my boat but my preference was for Berthon only reason being that it was closer to town.
However, I was warned by a buddy that it's closed shop for pretty much all trades and I can't be doing with someone telling me who's going to do what work on my boat. So, I chose the Yacht Haven and have been there since April this year. Can't fault it really apart from the berths being a little short. Staff are friendly, fuel available at a reasonable price, good chandlers on site and a generally clean and tidy place to be moored. Really quick access to the Solent too so thoroughly recommend this as an alternative.
 
crazy4557 said:
I recently moved to Lymington to live and looked at both the Yacht Haven and Berthon. Both similiar prices for my boat but my preference was for Berthon only reason being that it was closer to town.
However, I was warned by a buddy that it's closed shop for pretty much all trades and I can't be doing with someone telling me who's going to do what work on my boat. So, I chose the Yacht Haven and have been there since April this year. Can't fault it really apart from the berths being a little short. Staff are friendly, fuel available at a reasonable price, good chandlers on site and a generally clean and tidy place to be moored. Really quick access to the Solent too so thoroughly recommend this as an alternative.
Click to expand...

I could have written the exact same post, word for word. You're not wearing blue undies as well are you?
 
Aigua said:
The closed nature does worry me a little as it's the first year of a larger boat and I am acutly aware of all the costs that are going to accompany it :o. I
guess the way to look at berthon is that you are not simply renting a berth but you are placing you boat into a managed services type environment. Personally
I haven't quite got my head round this yet although it may not be a bad thing.
Click to expand...

I was berthed there for a few years around five years ago. The advantages have been generally well covered although I would add that security didn't seem to be a problem even though there are no gates or fences to keep people out.

I'm sure they would like to see themselves as a manged services type environment but I caught them, more than once, recommending work that I knew was unnecessary, some of which involved a four figure cost. The ease with which this was done suggested they get away with it with quite a few berth-holders.

Another disadvantage not so far mentioned is that there is no catering on site. Of course there are plenty of pubs and restaurants a short distance away in Lymington (and now a cafe that backs on to the marina), but I always thought Berthons lacked the social focus that on-site catering provides in so many marinas.
 
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